Unmasking Sanxingdui Ruins

Xinhuanet/China News ^ | 5-7-2004 | China View

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More about The Finds at Sanxingdui

Pit 2 at Sanxingdui held more than sixty tusks. The layer below was filled with bronze heads and masks.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The two pits excavated at Sanxingdui in Sichuan province are among the most fascinating of recent finds in Chinese archaeology. They were discovered by workers at a local brick factory in the summer of 1986, just outside a walled settlement that had already been excavated. The two pits were filled with bronze objects, jades, and elephant tusks that had been buried (probably as offerings). The objects in Pit 1 had been burned before burial. The finds in Pit 2 (right) were in three distinct layers: on top were some sixty elephant tusks, next came large bronze objects (including Bronze standing figure and Bronze human head with gold leaf), and below were jade and stone implements, animal masks, and some smaller bronzes.

While the site, which is roughly contemporary with the tomb of Fu Hao (late Shang), needs further study, the objects clearly indicate the presence of a strong regional culture with sophisticated religious practices and advanced bronze-casting technology (see see More About Excavations at the Tomb of Fu Hao, Ivory goblet inlaid with turquoise, and Bronze owl-shaped vessel). In contrast to Shang burials, these offering pits show no evidence of human sacrifice, but they do reveal a marked interest in the human form, especially the face.

The Sanxingdui finds are exciting, but they remain enigmatic. No texts have been found, nor is there any mention of this culture in the records of other states, either during or after the late Shang period. Analysis of lead and other elements in the bronzes indicates sources similar to those of other cultures along the Lower Yangzi river basin. Some Chinese archaeologists and historians have attempted to link this culture with the later Shu culture, which was also centered in Sichuan. At this point, however, the unique culture that produced these artifacts remains a mystery

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Bronze human head with gold leaf

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Bronze Standing Figure

[curmudgeonII]

Bronze human head with gold leaf

Looks like what I see when I first look at a mirror in the morning.

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Bronze Owl Shaped Figure

[swarthyguy]

Evocative of Sumerian/Mayan/Indian type sculptures.

[Little Pig]

The pre-polynesian influence in this one is apparent, though it retains some continental asian too. Since the polynesians are (AFAIK) generally thought to be migrants from south Asia. The time frame would be about right, too, since most put the polynesian migration several thousand years BC. This might be something those who stayed behind made.


Alternative theory: There was a diaspora from coastal southeast asia by a proto-culture (who knows why). Some went out to sea, others went north. The seafarers, not encountering any rival cultures, managed to survive long enough to establish. Those who went north ran into what would eventually be the Chinese, and were absorbed or foundered.


JMHO, YMMV

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Bronze mask

[blam]

"Evocative of Sumerian/Mayan/Indian type sculptures."

Graham Hancock Agrees with you. Check out the below link.

Mysterious Strangers(New Findings About The First Americans)

[muawiyah]

The Sumerians might well be contemporaries, but the Mayans come along several thousand years later.

Iranian archaeologists recently reported finding an old settlement with writing that dates back older than anything the Sumerians did.

This dig in China is old but there's no writing.

[swarthyguy]

Thanks. Haven't been checking his site lately.

[swarthyguy]

OK if not Mayan, then perhaps the mysterious Olmecs. Just a general impression.

And if the Pakistanis ever allowed the Indus River ruins to be properly investigated, who knows what we'd find there as well.

[blam]

I agree with both your ideas...and, it probably happened around 6,000-8,000BC when Sundaland completely went underwater. Some even believe the Sumerians were refugees from Sundaland.

Dr Robert Schoch (Geologist/Geophysist) has a book titled Voyages Of The Pyramid Builders and in it he proposes that the refugees from Sundaland 'scattered' all around the world taking their pyramid building culture with them.

Also, Stephen Oppenheimer, in his book, Eden In The East, essentially comes to the same conclusion about the dispersal.

[ThanhPhero]

I went to http://www.china.org.cn/e-sanxingdui/pic/page1.html and looked at the pictures, many of them. Some of the masks look at least superficially Mayan
and one head looked like a Mycenaeian dude with Chinese eyes.

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Lost Civilization From 7,500BC Discovered Off Indian Coast

See post #18 in the above linked article. This may be writing.(?)

[pabianice]

Look Gao'uld to me.

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The Olmec And The Shang (A link Between Chinese And American Cultures?)

[swarthyguy]

IIRC, GOrdon Collins, an astronaut wrote a great book about his work with the Olmecs after Apollo. Hope I have the name right, but it's well worth reading.

He does expound on ancient peoples and was instrumental in furthering modern Olmec research.

[Fedora]

Thanks! Very interesting. My first guess is this culture may have been linked via Mohenjo-Daro/Harappa to the Near East. Something about the spiral on the owl figure looks familiar but I can't put my finger on it--will save the pic and keep an eye out for what it's reminding me of.